Credit Cards

My Experience Applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve

Posted on September 4, 2016 by 2btravel

Though I’ve not mentioned it here, the top bloggers in the world of points & miles have all let us know about Chase’s new offering that’s meant to compete with the Citi Prestige and Amex Platinum.

2016-09-04 CSR Intro

The card comes with a $450 annual fee – not waived the first year – which is similar to those cards.  But whereas the Platinum comes with an annual $200 airline credit (and you must specify which airline) and the Prestige has an annual $250 airline credit, the Sapphire Reserve comes with a $300 annual credit good on any type of travel.  Since these credits are valid for a calendar year, that means that in the first year you have the card you can get $600 in travel credits which totally offsets the annual fee.  In future years it knocks the annual fee down to $150, which is quite reasonable for a card like this.

Like the Freedom cards and the Sapphire Preferred, this new Sapphire Reserve card earns Ultimate Rewards (UR) points that can be transferred to a number of airlines and hotels:

  • Air France/KLM
  • British Airways
  • Korean Air
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Southwest Airlines
  • United Airlines
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Hyatt
  • IHG
  • Marriott
  • Ritz-Carlton

I don’t know if people are applying for this card at record rates or not but they’ve actually run out of card stock for it!  It was supposed to be issued on a metal card, similar to the Sapphire Preferred but apparently the demand has far exceeded Chase’s expectations so people are receiving temporary plastic cards until the metal cards can be issued.
Continue reading →

Categories: Chase, Credit Cards, Sapphire Reserve, Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Register Now for Discover Q4 Bonus

Posted on September 3, 2016 by 2btravel

The Discover family of cards have rotating bonus categories each quarter.  During a given 3-month span purchases in these categories will earn 5% cash back, for up to $1500 in purchases during the quarter.

2016-09-03 Discover Q4 Registration

Registration is now open for the fourth quarter of 2016.  The bonus categories are amazon.com, department stores and Sam’s Club. These are terrific categories for holiday shopping and if you play the manufactured spending game, some Sam’s Clubs sell Visa and MasterCard gift cards.

Go ahead and register your card today so that you don’t forget to do so next month.  You can find the registration link HERE.

Categories: Credit Card Promos, Credit Cards, Discover, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

1000 Free Delta Miles (targeted)

Posted on July 20, 2016 by 2btravel

If you hold one of the co-branded Delta American Express cards, check for an email offering 1000 free Delta miles.

2016-07-20 Delta email

The email reminds you of all the perqs of the card and when you click on the link it will take you to this web page:

2016-07-20 Delta webpage

Simply enter your SkyMiles number and you have your miles! A nice way to add to your mileage stash.

Thanks, Delta!

Categories: American Express, Credit Card Promos, Delta, Delta Amex | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Activate Q3 Bonus Categories Now

Posted on June 20, 2016 by 2btravel

There are two great no-annual-fee credit cards that offer quarterly bonus categories.  When you buy products from stores in those categories during the specified time frame, instead of the usual 1% cash back or 1 point per dollar, you’ll earn 5% or 5x points.  Each of these cards offers the bonuses for up to $1500 in purchases each quarter.  You’ll need to be sure to activate these category bonuses before mid-September, so why not go ahead and do it now?

First up, the Discover family of cards.  My Discover card is the oldest one I own and over the years has transitioned to a Discover More card.  But the Discover It card is also eligible to receive the quarterly bonuses.  To register for Q3, either log into your account and look on the right side of the screen where you’ll see a link or go straight to the activation page and sign in there.  This quarter’s bonus categories are home improvement stores (like Ace, Home Depot, Lowe’s and even specialty stores like Benjamin Moore) and Amazon.com, so you can start your holiday shopping early!  (And Amazon is a category for Q4 too!)

2016-06-20 Discover Q3 Bonus

Next, the Chase Freedom card offers 5% cash back – or 5x Freedom points, which can be worth more than 1 penny per point – on spending at Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs.  That comes just in time for those who use Costco as they now only accept Visa.  You can activate your Freedom bonus here.

2016-06-20 Freedom Q3 Bonus

Quarterly bonuses are a great way to increase the amount of points or cash back you earn – just remember to use these cards beginning on July 1!

Categories: Chase, Credit Card Promos, Credit Cards, Discover, Freedom | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Register Now for Chase Freedom Q2 Bonus

Posted on March 17, 2016 by 2btravel

The Chase Freedom card is a terrific no-fee credit card. Each quarter it offers 5x Ulitmate Rewards (UR) points in certain bonus categories.
2016-03-17 Freedom 2Q Categories

Those UR points can be redeemed for a penny a point, which is not a bad deal. But if you have one of the other Ultimate Rewards cards like the Sapphire Preferred or one of the Ink business cards, you can combine your UR balance between the cards. That means you can transfer your UR points to airlines (like United) or hotel programs (like Hyatt) and get more value than one penny per point.

Today I received a reminder email from Chase that it was time to register for the second quarter bonuses, which will begin on April 1.

2016-03-17 Freedom 2Q Registration Email

If you received this email you can just click on the link and, voila!, you’re registered.

If you did not receive the email you can go to the registration website and sign up there.

2016-03-17 Freedom 2Q Registration Site

Once you’ve signed up you should get an email from Chase indicating your registration was successful.

2016-03-17 Freedom 2Q Registration Complete

This quarter you can earn bonuses for up to $1500 in purchases at Grocery Stores and Wholesale Clubs. Note that most Wal-Marts and Targets do not qualify as grocery stores for this promotion. Wholesale Clubs like Sam’s and BJs will work too.

This is an easy category to max out as many grocery stores and warehouse clubs sell Visa gift cards. Buy 3 x $500 Visa gift cards and you’re done for the quarter! Or, if you don’t have an easy way to liquidate Visa gift cards, there are restaurant and other store gift cards that can be bought in many grocery stores. And often you can earn at least double fuel points for these gift cards. And remember that a gift card doesn’t have to actually be a “gift”. You can use it for yourself for places where you regularly dine or shop.

So be sure to register today!

Don’t have this card? You can sign up for one here. I make no money from this link but it will help support one of the full-time bloggers who help get the word out about the points & miles game.

Categories: Chase, Credit Card Promos, Credit Cards, Freedom | Tags: , | Leave a comment

A South Pacific Birthday Trip

Posted on December 20, 2015 by 2btravel

SPB Trip Planning
SPB Qantas First Class to Sydney
SPB Park Hyatt Sydney
SPB Sydney Opera House
SPB Around Sydney
SPB Flying to/from Uluru
SPB Emu Walk Apartments
SPB Uluru and Kata Tjuta
SPB Park Hyatt Melbourne
SPB Around Melbourne
SPB Flying to Fiji
SPB Hilton Fiji
SPB Snorkeling Trip
SPB Fiji Air Business Class to Los Angeles
SPB Hyatt Regency DFW

 

I have a couple of friends I like to travel with and over the years we’ve all had a birthday that ends in a zero (with different leading digits!). Our tradition has become whoever has the “zero birthday” gets to pick the vacation spot and we try to do it up right. About two years ago I first got into the miles and points game and it wasn’t long before I set a goal of celebrating my next “zero birthday” in Australia and using miles and points to pay for as much of it as possible.

My dad, who’s a 2 million miler on American, offered to give me whatever AA points I needed to make my trip happen. That left me a goal of helping my friends accumulate the miles they’d need to fly Down Under too. Then, of course, there would be points needed for hotel rooms. Lofty goals but with two years to get things planned, we were able to accomplish it relatively cheaply – well, cheaply as compared to what it COULD have cost!

The itinerary

I had visited Australia before, in 2006, and was eager to go back. One of my friends had been there as well but the other had not. So I knew that meant I’d need to re-visit some of the iconic places but I also wanted to be sure to visit some places I’d never been. My prior trip had involved stops in Sydney and Cairns, which is up near the Great Barrier Reef. While I would have loved to have gone back to the GBR, there were other places I wanted to visit as well, and with a total trip length of two weeks, we just couldn’t squeeze everything in this time around. In the end we flew from the US to Sydney and stayed there four days. Next we flew to the Red Centre of the country and visited Uluru (Ayers Rock) for a couple of days. Then it was down south to Melbourne for a bit more than two days.

During our trip planning we had talked about stopping off somewhere a little more exotic on the way back, somewhere we could just enjoy the beach, the sun and the surf. Since we’d be using primarily American Airlines miles, I quickly realized that due to their routing rules we’d need to stay in Oceania for our beach time. That led us to look at Fiji as our final stop before heading back to the US.

My friends and I each make our homes in different cities in the US so here is how our trip worked out:

The various routings for our trip. Map made on gcmap.com

The various routings for our trip. Map made on gcmap.com

Continue reading →

Categories: American Airlines, Australia, Award Travel, Chase, Fiji, Fiji Air, Hilton, Hotel, Hyatt, Oceania, OneWorld, Qantas, Sapphire Preferred | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Register for Q1 2016 Bonus Categories

Posted on December 15, 2015 by 2btravel

Both the Discover Card and Chase Freedom card have rotating bonus categories each quarter. Registration is now available for both cards for the first quarter of 2016.

2015-12-15 Chase Freedom 2016 Bonus Categories

Chase Freedom will give 5x points (or 5% cash back) on purchases made at gas stations and for local commuter transportation (taxis, subways, local buses, etc. but not parking, tolls or Amtrak). I haven’t heard if this includes Uber purchases or not. To register, enter your information HERE on the Chase website.

2015-12-15 Discover Q1 2016 Bonus Categories
The Discover More and Discover It cards are also offering the 5% bonus at gas stations and on ground transportation. They specifically INCLUDE Uber and Lyft as well as:

  • Charter & Tour Bus Lines
  • Local & Suburban Public Transportation – Buses, Trains
  • Taxis, Limos
  • Bike Share Programs
  • Rental Cars

Note that purchases made via travel agencies will be excluded. Register for this bonus HERE at the Discover website.

 
Both programs are valid on bonuses up to $1500 in purchases.

 
This is one of the quarters where I generally don’t max out the bonus. I have trouble finding gas stations that sell gift cards and of course I don’t spend enough in the other categories to reach the max. But I will register anyway because 5x/5% is better than any other bonus I’ll receive for this category for the rest of the year.

Now on my Christmas wish list: that Freedom and Discover will each do different categories for the rest of the year so they don’t overlap!

Categories: Chase, Credit Card Promos, Discover, Freedom | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The Last First Friday

Posted on December 3, 2015 by 2btravel

CSPFor several years now Chase has offered 3x points on dining charges on the first Friday of each month when you pay using your Chase Sapphire Preferred card.  Earlier this year they announced this perk would be discontinued at the end of the year.  That means tomorrow is your last chance to get this bonus for the foreseeable future.  No, 3x vs. 2x isn’t a huge jump, but maybe you can take the opportunity to pay for the office holiday party (and get reimbursed, of course) or just offer to pay when you’re out to lunch with your co-workers (and get reimbursed)!

This has been a nice perk and I admit I haven’t taken advantage of it like I should but I hate to see it go.

Categories: Chase, Credit Cards, Sapphire Preferred | Tags: | Leave a comment

Increased Sign-Up Bonuses for Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Cards!

Posted on November 16, 2015 by 2btravel

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of my favorite as it earns bonus Ultimate Rewards points in categories I use often, like dining and travel. Normally there’s a 40,000 point sign-up bonus once you meet minimum spend but starting today that bonus hasa been increased to 50,000 points.

A great companion to the Sapphire Preferred is the Freedom card. It is a no-annual-fee card that earns Ultimate Rewards points – but unless you also have the Sapphire Preferred card or one of the Ink cards (which do have annual fees) you cannot transfer the Ultimate Rewards points earned on the Freedom card to an airline or hotel loyalty program. The Freedom card has rotating categories each quarter where you can earn 5x points. This quarter’s categories includes Amazon.com, just in time for the holidays.

This is a temporary increase in the signup bonus so be sure to sign up for it while it’s around. Then register your Freedom card to get the 4th quarter bonuses.CSP

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Earn 50,000 points after spending $4000 in the first three months after approval. Add an authorized user and get an additional 5000 points.

This card earns double points on dining and travel. With this offer the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.

Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom

Earn 15,000 points after $500 spend in three months after approval. Add an authorized user and get and additional 2500 points.

This card earns 5x points in quarterly rotating categories. Once you’ve received your card you must register for each quarter. You can do that HERE.

Categories: Chase, Credit Cards, Freedom, Sapphire Preferred | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Chase Restricts Transfers of Ultimate Rewards Points

Posted on November 16, 2015 by 2btravel

Starting today Chase is changing where they’ll allow you to transfer your Ultimate Rewards (UR) points, which are earned from their Sapphire Preferred, Freedom and Ink series of cards.

In the past, you could transfer URs to a family member who lived at the same address. Now you can only transfer the points to a household member who is listed as an authorized user on your credit card. For business cards, you can only transfer points to yourself or an owner of the company who is listed as an authorized user on your card account.

Note that this does not change the ability of families to pool URs within the Chase system, only the ability to transfer those points to a frequent flyer or hotel program.

I expect this will make things more difficult for families who in the past could use URs to top off a child’s frequent flyer account. As a single person this doesn’t really affect me.

Categories: Chase, Freedom, Ink, Sapphire Preferred | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

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